


Goodbye Tonsils

by PureImaginationFic



Category: Backstreet Boys
Genre: Gen, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-28
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2020-07-24 00:01:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20016940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PureImaginationFic/pseuds/PureImaginationFic
Summary: 6 year old Bradley is apprehensive about his first surgical procedure, luckily his parents are there to help him through it, that is until Brian is called away to perform his Backstreet Boy duties.





	Goodbye Tonsils

_**August 1998**_

Vicki sat cross legged on her couch, a thick book resting in her lap, several other books sat open on the coffee table, she swiped a highlighter over the page and stuck a sticky note to it. 

“Mommy!” Bradley cried from his room. 

“Coming sweetie!” Vicki yelled as she sat the book aside and got up from the couch. “Hey, what’s wrong?” she asked going into Bradley’s room and turning on the light. 

He sat up in his little bed “I don’t feel good” he whined. 

She sat down next to him, putting the back of her hand to his forehead and in the crook of his neck. “Honey you’re burning up” she said kissing his forehead and rushing into the bathroom, she came back in with a thermometer and stuck it in his ear. It beeped reading 102 degrees “Is it your throat again?” she asked, he nodded sadly “It’s okay sweetie, we’ll go see doctor Jacobs tomorrow, okay?” she said, pulling him close and holding him in her arms as she lied back against the pillows. 

“I miss daddy” Bradley said in a small, sad voice as he looked up at her with big blue eyes. 

“I know sweetheart” she said cuddling with him. 

“Why hasn’t he called?” Bradley asked. 

“Well, sweetie, daddy’s probably very busy” she said looking down at him “Don’t worry, maybe he’ll call tomorrow” she said kissing the top of his head.

~*~

The next afternoon Bradley sat in Vicki’s lap as they sat on the examining table of the doctor’s office.

“Well well who do we have here” the doctor said coming into the room. 

“Hi doctor Jacobs” Vicki said to him. 

“Hi” Bradley said shyly. 

“Hey buddy, what can I do for you today?” he asked. 

“Someone has another sore throat” Vicki said playing with Bradley’s hair. 

“I see” the doctor said. 

“He had a fever last night too” Vicki said to him.

“Well alright let’s take a look shall we?” he asked “Alright Bradley say ah” the doctor said as Bradley opened his mouth “Uh huh” the doctor said pushing the depresser down on Bradley’s tongue and shining a flashlight to the back of his throat.

He then felt the sides of Bradley’s neck “Does that hurt?” he asked, Bradley nodded meekly “Alright, good job buddy, here you go” the doctor said handing Bradley a lollipop “Why don’t you go out to the play room while I talk to your mom” he said to Bradley. 

“Okay” Bradley said as Vicki put him down. 

“I’ll be right there sweetie” she said as he left the room. 

“So?” Vicki asked. 

“Well…as a first year med student, I think you know what’s happening” he said to her. 

“I know” she sighed. 

“Don’t worry a tonsillectomy is very routine procedure” he said to her. 

“Oh no I know that, trust me I’ve had one myself” she said that. 

“Same here” he said. 

“I just don’t want him to be scared” she said.

“I know but we need to do it soon, those things get any bigger…he’ll be in a lot more pain” he said. 

“How soon?” she asked. 

“In the next few days at least” he said. 

“Okay” she said nodding “Let’s set it up.” 

“Great, I’ll check with my team see when we can get it done, I’ll give you a call” he said. 

“Thanks” she said shaking his hand. 

“No problem” he said. 

“Can we go now mommy?” Bradley asked looking up at her. 

“Yep, come on” she said holding her hand out for him.

~*~

“Okay here we go” Vicki said carrying a tray of soup into Bradley’s room “Nice hot soup, it’ll help with your sore throat” she said setting the tray over him as he lied in his bed. “Hey sweetie, can I talk to you about something?” she asked.

“What?” he asked. 

“Well…” she said snuggling up next to him “You see, you have these things in the back of your throat called tonsils and sometimes they can get really big and they can start to hurt” she said “And when they get that big they have to come out because if they don’t, you can get really sick, so I talked to doctor Jacobs and he thinks that it’s time to take yours out” she said playing with his hair. 

“Will it hurt?” Bradley asked looking up at her.

“The doctors will give you some medicine and you’ll go right to sleep and you won’t feel a thing” she said to him “And when you wake up you get all the ice cream you can eat, doesn’t that sound cool?” she asked. 

“Yeah” he said when the phone rang. 

She reached over to his nightstand and picked up the phone “Hello?” she asked answering. 

“Hey it’s me” Brian said. 

“Well hello there” she said looking at Bradley “A certain little boy has been anxiously awaiting your call” she said. 

“Well I am anxious to talk to him too, put him on” Brian said smiling. 

“It’s your dad” she said handing the phone over to Bradley.

“Daddy!” Bradley said happily. 

“Hey buddy” Brian said. 

“Where are you?” Bradley asked. 

“I am in Milwaukee right now” Brian said “But you know what? We have a couple shows in Los Angeles, so I’ll be home for few days” he said. 

“Really?” Bradley asked happily. 

“Really and I can’t wait to see you” Brian said. 

“I can’t wait to see you too, I miss you daddy” Bradley said. 

“I miss you too buddy, put your mom back on okay?” Brian said to him.

“Okay” Bradley sad handing the phone over to Vicki. 

“Hey” she said taking the phone. 

“Hey, so what’s been going on with you guys” Brian asked.

“Well…” she said leaving the room “His tonsils need to come out” she said in a hush voice. 

“They sure?” Brian asked. 

“Oh they’re sure, those things are huge” she said to him. 

“When?” he asked. 

“I don’t know yet, the doctor said he’d call me and let me know” she said. 

“Is there anyway to schedule it for when I’m home? I really want to be there with him” he said. 

“I can try” she said. 

“Alright, well, let me know, you have my number right?” he asked. 

“Yeah” she said. 

“Alright let me say goodbye to him” he said. 

“Okay” she said handing Bradley the phone “Say bye to daddy” she said. 

“Bye daddy!” Bradley said taking the phone from her.

“Bye buddy, I’ll talk to you again soon okay? I love you” Brian said to him.

“I love you too, bye!” Bradley said handing the phone to Vicki. 

“Why don’t you take a nap” she said taking the tray from his bed, she kissed his forehead and tucked him in before picking up the tray and leaving the room. 

“Doctor Jacobs hi, it’s Vicki McAdams, about the surgery is there anyway you can do it next week?” she asked “Well, Bradley’s dad will be in town and he wants to be there with him” she said “Uh yeah that works out perfectly, thank you, we’ll see you then” she said before hanging up the phone.

~*~

Vicki packed up some of Bradley’s clothes into an overnight bag as he sat on his bed “You okay sweetie?” she asked.

“I’m scared, I don’t want to have an operation” he said sadly. 

“Oh, honey” she said crouching down in front of him. 

“It’s okay to be scared but I promise nothing bad is going to happen” she said “Besides I have a surprise for you” she said. 

“What?” he asked. 

“You got to close your eyes first” she said as his eyes closed, she waved Brian in and he crept into the room. “Open” she said. 

Bradley’s eyes opened “Dad!” he said leaping into Brian's arms. 

Brian laughed “Hey buddy” he said hugging him tightly. 

“You’re here!” Bradley said happily. 

“Course, where else would I be?” Brian asked picking Bradley up and holding him. 

“Someone’s a little scared about his procedure today” Vicki said. 

“Oh yeah? Well you know what? There’s no reason to be scared okay? Everything’s going to be just fine, I promise” Brian said. 

“Ready to go?” Vicki asked. 

“Okay” Bradley sighed. 

“Alright, let’s do this” he said as Vicki grabbed the bag.

~*~

Bradley sat in his lap as they sat on the hospital bed together, a bracelet hanging loosely from his wrist

“Hey look who’s here” doctor Jacobs said coming into the room with a nurse “Hi doctor Jacobs” he said shaking Brian's hand. 

“Hi” Brian said. 

“Bradley this is Alison, she’s going to be helping me today” doctor Jacobs said introducing his nurse. 

“Hi Bradley” she said sweetly as she sat next to him. 

“Hi” he said. 

“I actually have a surprise for you, now I only give this to my very special patients and I think you’re going to be one of those patients, check this out” she said handing him a Gameboy. 

“Cool” he said. 

“Oh sweet check that out” Brian said to Bradley. 

“Okay now while you play with that I’m going to put this in your hand okay? It’ll only hurt for a second, I promise” she said showing him the IV needle. 

She snapped on a pair of rubber gloves and swiped an alcohol swab across the back of his hand. 

“Oh don’t look don’t look” Brian said covering Bradley’s eyes and pushing his head to the side, he whined as Alison slid it under his skin and taped it up. 

“There we go, all done” she said. 

“Okay, now you can look” Brian said letting go of Bradley. 

“We’ll be back for you in a little bit okay?” Alison asked as she left the room. 

“Here sweetie, why don’t you relax” Vicki said. 

“Yeah here, just lay back here” Brian said setting Bradley on the bed and covering him up with the blanket. 

“Will you be here when I wake up?” Bradley asked in a small voice. 

“Course we will” Vicki said to him. 

“Yeah we’re not going anywhere, don’t worry” Brian said to him. “In fact, we’ll have a big bowl of ice cream waiting for you when you wake up” he said. 

“Promise?” Bradley asked. 

“Cross my heart” Brian said. 

“Okay, everyone, show time” doctor Jacobs said coming into the room. 

“Bradley I’m going to give you some medicine and you’ll go right to sleep okay?” she asked injecting something into his IV. 

“Close your eyes okay” Vicki said to him “I love you sweetie” she said kissing his forehead. 

“Love you buddy” Brian said leaning into kiss his forehead as well.

~*~

Vicki sat in a chair in the waiting room, he scribbled his name on a few pieces of paper for a group of girls standing in front of him.

“Thank you.” 

“Thank you so much.” 

“Yeah no problem” Brian said as they walked off giggling. “Sorry about that” he said sitting back down next to Vicki. 

“It’s so weird seeing you like this” she said. 

“Like what?” he asked. 

“You know…famous” she said. 

“I’m not famous” he said. 

She scoffed “That was the third group of girls that came up to you in the 20 minutes we’ve been sitting here” she said. 

“Am I detecting a hint of jealousy?” he asked. 

She began laughing “Are you serious?” she asked. 

“It’s okay if you are, I’m not judging” he said. 

“Wow…you certainly think highly of yourself don’t you? That ego come with the record deal?” she asked. 

“Me thinks you doth protest too much” he said “Or however that saying goes” he said. 

“I still think of you as my cute neighbor who swept me off my feet when I was fourteen” she said. 

“Really?” he asked. 

“Yeah” she said smiling at him.

He leaned in and kissed her cheek when he heard a ringing “Oh” he said pulling his phone from his pocket, he pulled the antenna up and lifted the cover “Hello?” he asked. “No I’m still at the hospital, Bradley’s in surgery” he said “What interview?” he asked “Nobody told us about this…when?” he asked before groaning “Yeah…yeah fine, I’ll be there” he said rolling his eyes. 

“Duty calls?” Vicki asked. 

“I am so sorry our manager just scheduled us for a last minute interview, I got to go” he said. “I don’t think I’m going to make it back before the show tonight.” 

“That’s fine, go, don’t worry, I’ll explain everything” she said to him. 

“Thanks, hey, uh when Bradley gets out, tell him I love him and I’ll try to call him before the show tonight” he said. 

“Got it” she said. 

“Thanks” he said before turning and jogging down the hallway.

~*~

Awhile later, Kellie approached the waiting area “Vicki” she said.

“Kel, hey” Vicki said standing up to hug her “Thanks for coming you didn’t have to” she said. 

“Well I wanted to drop these off” she said handing her a few pieces of construction paper “Just some get well wishes from Kyle, Harry, and Adam” she said. 

“Oh this is so sweet” Vicki said _'Hi, feel better, Adam'_ ” Vicki read. 

“I think that’s the best you’re going to get out of him” Kellie said to her. 

“I shudder to think what that kid’s going to be like when he gets older” Vicki said. 

“Scary to think about huh?” Kellie asked. 

“Vicki” doctor Jacobs said approaching her. 

“How’s Bradley?” she asked. 

“He did great” he said “He’s in recovery now, we’ll get him settled in his room soon” he said. 

“Oh thank you so much” she said. 

“I guess should go call my mom and give her the update” Vicki said. 

“Yeah I’ve got to go and help get the boys ready for the guys’ show tonight…that should only take a few hours” she said. “Speaking of which, where’s Bri? Why isn’t he here?” Kellie asked. 

“He was, he got called away, they scheduled the guys for some last minute press junket or something” Vicki said. 

“Course” Kellie said. 

“Have fun tonight, thanks for coming” Vicki said hugging her. 

“Oh no problem, I’ll let everyone know that Bradley’s okay” Kellie said. 

“Thanks” Vicki said as they parted ways. 

Bradley lie sleeping his hospital bed, Vicki crept quietly towards it and pulled a chair up beside it, he opened his sleepy eyes and turned to look at her. 

“Hi sweetheart” she said quietly. 

“Mom” he said. 

“Yeah, shh” she said “Try not to talk too much” she said holding his hand. 

“Where’s dad?” he asked in a hoarse voice. 

“Oh I’m sorry honey, daddy had to work” she said “Why don’t you go back to sleep?” she asked, his eyes closed once more and he drifted back to sleep.

~*~

Kyle, Harry, and Adam gleefully ran around backstage “Hey guys, be careful alright?” Kevin said as they continued to chase each other.

“So how’s Bradley?” Christina asked Kellie. 

“Everything went great the doctor said, they were moving him to recovery when I left” she said to them. 

“Did he like our cards?” Harry asked looking up at Kellie. 

“I’m sure he’ll love them” Kellie said to him. 

“Hey, how is he? He awake yet?” Brian asked as he talked to Vicki on the phone. 

“The doctor said he did great and that he should be just fine” Vicki said “Yeah he just woke up a little bit ago” she said to him as she talked on the payphone. 

“Did you tell him why I had to leave?” he asked. 

“Uh yeah, he seemed to understand, though he’s still pretty out of it so maybe that’s why” she said “Don’t worry, I took care of everything” she said. “Break a leg tonight okay?” she said. 

“Thanks” he said smirking. 

“Alright, bye” she said. 

“Bye” he said hanging up. 

“Hey it’s almost time to go on” Nick said to him. 

“Yeah…hey where’s Neilson?” Brian asked. 

“Sash took him to see Bradley at the hospital for a while” Nick said “You okay?” he asked. 

“Yeah I’m just thinking…that’s where I should be” Brian said. 

“So go” Nick said. 

“What are you crazy? We have a show to do” Brian said to him.

“I’ll cover for you” Nick said. 

“…you sure?” Brian asked. 

“Positive, go, be with your son” Nick said. 

Brian engulfed him in a tight hug “I owe you” he said. 

“You don’t owe me anything, go, tell Bradley I said hi” Nick said.

~*~

Bradley lied in his hospital bed, cartoons playing on the TV mounted to the wall.

“Hey” Vicki said coming into the room “How are you feeling?” she asked stroking his hair. 

“I wish dad was here” he said sadly. 

“Oh I know” she said “But you know what? Someone’s here to see you” she said when Neilson approached the doorway “Come on” Vicki said waving him inside. 

“Neilson!” Bradley said happily. 

“Hi Bradley” Neilson said to him. 

“Want to show Bradley what you brought for him?” Sasha asked, Vicki lifted Neilson up and sat him next to Bradley on the bed. 

“Here you go Bradley” Neilson said handing him a small bag. 

“Ice cream!” Bradley said happily. 

“Well when you said the hospital didn’t have Bradley’s favorite, Neilson wanted to go and get it for him” Sasha said. 

“Aww that’s so sweet, thank you Neilson” Vicki said. 

“Thanks Neilson” Bradley said to him. 

“I’ll get you guys some spoons” Vicki said. 

“Oh no need, got ‘em right here” Sasha said pulling two plastic spoons from her purse. 

“Well you’re just a regular Mary Poppins aren’t you?” Vicki asked. 

“They’re so cute together aren’t they?” Vicki asked Sasha as they watched Bradley and Neilson eat ice cream together. “I’m surprised Neilson didn’t want to go to the guys’ show” she said. 

“Oh we’re headed over there next, he insisted on seeing Bradley first” Sasha said to her. 

Brian jogged down the hallway towards Bradley’s room. 

“Oh my god” Vicki said upon seeing him. 

“Hey” he said. 

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“Aren’t you supposed to be on stage right now?” Sasha asked. 

“Yeah” he said “This is more important though” he said. 

“You’re still wearing your mic” Sasha said. 

“What?” he asked “Oh” he said pulling his microphone wire off of him “Bradley” he said going into the room. 

“Dad” Bradley said. 

“Hey” Brian said hugging Bradley tightly. 

“Hi uncle Brian” Neilson said as he stared at the TV and shoved a spoonful of ice cream in his mouth. 

"Hi Neilson” Brian said. 

“You’re here” Bradley said. 

“Course I’m here, where else would I be?” Brian asked. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be at the show?” Neilson asked. 

“...Eat your ice cream Neilson” Brian said to him “Alright what do we got going on here?” he asked “Oh Rocky Road, the good stuff” he said sitting back on the bed with Bradley. 

Vicki watched Brian make Bradley and Neilson laugh from the doorway. 

“I know that look” Sasha said. 

“What?” Vicki asked. 

“Have you ever thought of the possibility of you guys getting back together?” Sasha asked. 

“No” Vicki said “It’s not like that anymore” she said. 

“Really? Because that look on your face says otherwise” Sasha said. 

“What look?” Vick asked. 

“The same look you had on your face back in high school before you got together” Sasha said. 

“Sash…” Vicki said. 

“Alright suit yourself, but you know I’m right” Sasha said “Okay come on sweetie, we should get going” she said to Neilson. 

“Okay, bye Bradley” Neilson said. 

“Bye Neilson” Bradley said as Neilson hopped off the bed 

“Bye uncle Brian” Neilson said. 

“Bye Neilson, have fun at the show, take notes for me” Brian said. 

“Okay” Neilson said giggling. 

“Bye Bradley, I hope you feel better” Sasha said kissing his forehead. 

“What no kiss for me?” Brian asked. 

“I’ll let Vicki take care of that” Sasha said to him

“Oh my god Sash” Vicki groaned. 

“Night!” Sasha said taking Neilson’s hand and leaving.

~*~

Later that night they both sat on the bed, Bradley asleep between them.

“You know this isn’t the first time we spent the night in the hospital with him” Brian said to Vicki. 

“Oh right, prom night” she said “Forgot about that for a minute” she said. 

“Probably won’t be the last either” he said. 

“Now why would you say that?” she asked. 

Brian shrugged “You never know” he said “So, you want to tell me what that crack Sasha made was about?” he asked. 

“Not really” she said playing with Bradley’s hair. 

“Well I asked for a kiss and she said you’d take care of it so…” 

“Nothing, Sash is just…she’s being Sasha” she said. 

“Oh, what are these?” he asked looking at the bedside table. 

“Oh Kyle, Harry, and Adam made Bradley some get well cards” she said. 

“Ah, _‘hi, feel better, Adam’_ ” he said reading. 

“Can you just imagine that kid as a teenager?” Vicki asked. 

“I don’t want to think about Adam as a teenager, he’s scary enough as a six year old” he said shuddering. 

“Hi” Allison said coming into the room “Unfortunately visiting hours are over and we can only allow one of you to stay overnight” she said. 

“Okay, thank you” Vicki said, Allison nodded and left the room. 

“Guess that’s you” Brian said. 

“You sure?” she asked. 

“Yeah, I got to go and get kicked out of the group” he said. 

“Oh please the guys would rather disband completely than have them kick you out” she said. 

“Either way, I’m in a lot of trouble” he said. 

“Was it worth it?” she asked. 

“Definitely” he said looking down at Bradley sleeping. He crouched down to kiss his forehead, he opened his eyes a bit “Hey buddy, I got to go okay?” he asked “I’ll be here first thing tomorrow though okay?” he said. 

“Okay” Bradley yawned. 

“Alright” Brian said. 

“Night” Vicki said to him he looked at her before softly pressing his lips to hers, they kissed softly and sweetly. 

“Night” he said before leaving the room. 

She smiled to herself as she felt her lips, still tingling from the kiss.

~*~

The next morning she began to pack up Bradley’s clothing as he sat on the bed in his pajamas “Okay sweetie, ready to go home?” she asked.

Bradley nodded “I’m tired” he said. 

“I know honey, we’ll get you home and in get you into bed” she said. 

“Hey” Brian said coming into the room “Hey buddy” he said picking Bradley up “Ready to get out of here?” he asked, Bradley shook his head yes “Yeah? Want a ride?” he asked. 

“Yeah” Bradley said happily. 

“Alright” Brian said putting Bradley on his shoulders. 

“Okay, let’s get you home” Vicki said. 

They stood at the nurses’ station, the nurse handing Vicki discharge papers. 

“Okay bye Bradley, hope you feel better” she said, he waved, still sitting atop Brian's shoulders. 

“Thanks, have a good day” Vicki said to her. 

“You too Mr. and Mrs. Littrell” she said, they looked at each other and smiled. 

“Bye” Brian said as they went to the parking lot.

~*~

Vicki shut the door to Bradley’s bedroom “So how much trouble are you in?” she asked him.

“A lot” Brian said “Turns out running out just before a show is a no no” he said. 

“Really” she said. 

“Yeah who would’ve thought” he said “Nah it’ll be alright, I think they kind of understood why” he said. “Speaking of which I should get going, almost time for rehearsals” he said. “Tell Bradley I’ll call him later…Mrs. Littrell” he said. 

She smiled “Oh I will…Mr. Littrell” she said. 

“I like that…you being Mrs. Littrell” he said. 

“Could’ve been” she said shrugging. 

“Should’ve been” he said smiling sadly “I’ll see you later” he said leaving.

~*~

Later that night, Vicki sat on her bed, old pictures scattered around her, she looked at them together as teens, smiling down at it sadly as she thought back to herself.

“Mommy” Bradley said pushing the door open. 

“Hey, what are you doing up?” she asked. 

“I had a bad dream” he said. 

“Aw, come here, sweetie” she said as he approached her bed and climbed up. 

She pulled him close and held him tightly “Mom?” he asked. 

“What?” she asked. 

“Do you still love dad?” he asked. 

She smiled down at him “Of course I still love your dad” she said. 

“Like you used to?” he asked. 

“…Sure” she said smiling at him “How about you go back to sleep?” she said as he closed his eyes, she looked down at the pictures next to her, picking one up, she smiled to herself and put it on her nightstand before turning off the light.


End file.
